FP + What we know and what we want to know

[Disney_Princess83]

Super-User!!

I was thinking the same thing!

We don't get many FP's at MK but we got more at EPCOT and HS.

 

[Planogirl]

Super-User!!

I'm truly baffled by some of the arguments here...

 

[Disney_Princess83]

I'm truly baffled by some of the arguments here...

No, the uber users must be controlled and stopped at all costs! They must not be allowed to continue to infiltrate the parks and take advantage of the FastPass!

 

[krb2g]

What percentage of people don't get their tickets through Disney now? I bet that's probably pretty low. If the question was dependent upon a previous question about whether tickets were obtained through a third party or not, it would be more meaningful.

They may have been trying to judge if they could get away with making it a requirement, or at least determining how much work they'd have to put in to dealing with third-party tickets.

It might be higher than you think. I think a lot of people (although not necessarily the population using this board or reading the Unofficial Guide) just call Disney and book. When we called to make our (room-only) reservations for our upcoming December trip, we got a lovely CM (who was very helpful checking different resort possibilities) whose first question was "do you want the deluxe dining plan or the regular dining plan?" We knew we didn't want any dining plan, but because the question is phrased in that way, it doesn't sound like you have a choice to opt-out (though of course you do). And to get the dining plan, you'd have to get park tickets--which also applies to free dining promotions.

 

[krb2g]

As far as the question of whether you will only be able to book a certain number of FP+ days at a time--the language in the T&Cs implies (to me) that Disney is at least reserving the right to say this. Whether that number of days will be 100 or 10 or 5 or 2 or invoked at all is unclear.

And I can see why they would want to say it--if I'm an AP holder and an Orlando local (and I'm neither of those things, btw, this is just a hypothetical) and I want a FP+ for TSMM every night at 7 pm* so I can duel my mortal enemy (also a local and an AP holder, who also books a FP+ for TSMM every night at 7 pm), then that might contribute to the system clogging up, or other visitors being unable to get FPs.

*(Tangent: a couple of local AP holders at DL went to Disneyland EVERY DAY in 2012, and the company celebrated that achievement by giving them a night in the Dream Suite--so at least Anaheim values repeat visitors!)

BUT (and this part is the part that confuses me), IF the goal of NextGen is to encourage guests to stay on site longer and spend more money while they do, and I have air tickets to Orlando for 7 days and am only able to book FP+s for 5 days at a time, I'm far more likely than I would otherwise have been to spend a night on property at Universal and make those other two days Unlimited Express Pass days at Universal (where I can ride Forbidden Journey during my hour of early entry and then basically cycle on Hulk till I puke, rinse, and repeat). The hassles of not using ME, spending more for park tickets (b/c two days at Universal are more expensive than two add-on days at Disney), transportation between resorts and switching resorts mid-trip usually keeps me at Disney for long Orlando vacations (sometimes if we're in the area and have a free day or two, we'll choose Universal because it feels like you can get more of it done in one or two days). But if I am going to be locked out of the virtual queueing system for several days of my vacation (and I fully admit that this is speculation) just because I want to spend more days vacationing than Disney is going to let me save places in line for, then I'd find that hassle worth it.

 

[scooter7487]

Its going to crush the battery.. these 4g phones suck it down! I wasnt looking forward to carrying a spare charger(s), but looks like we might have to - one for the iphone and 1 for the droid

Oh I'm sure disney will set up a charging station for all or us. It will be linked to Fp+ so we can reserve our charging time or they will have a credit card kiosk so they can charge us for the electricity.

I am very disappointed in Disney. Looking to sell my DVc

 

[mom2rtk]

When I googled Test Track Closure, I found this article and this juicy quote:

While Test Track is closed for refurbishment, Guests may enjoy several unadvertised “surprise and delight” offerings, including the following which begin April 16:


The Test Track Allstars travel-themed A Cappella group will be performing daily in the area near the Test Track pavilion.
On a trial basis, Character Spot, Soarin’ and all attractions, merchandise locations and grab-n-go food & beverage offerings in The Land will remain open until 10pm.


OK - I hope Nick Franklin is going to re-evaluate that phrase "surprise and delight" in conjunction with FP+.

That may be the most disappointing connection thus far.

You have to be making that up!!!! Did they REALLY say "surprise and delight? ?????

That's just SCARY!

Well, surely there were people somewhere who enjoyed the group. Wasn't it just a core group of gloom and doom naysayers on the DIS who weren't happy with the tradeoff and the way it was handled????

 

[krb2g]

As far as batteries go:
*This is why I want people in my traveling party to have their own accounts--if my phone dies, then my sister could log in on her phone to check wait times/change things. We're a group of ten and at least 5 of us have smart phones, so we could split up the battery usage.
*I bought an extra battery and an external charger for my droid--so useful! Usually I can just plug it in (and I've learned how to save battery via settings, app use, etc), but for something like the Disney parks, it's nice to be able to just change to a full battery and go (and then charge both in the hotel room that night).
*I also bought a travel-sized Belkin powerstrip/charger that has room for 3 plugs and 2 usb charges (although I haven't gotten it yet and have read some reviews that suggest the usb doesn't offer a ton of power)--to make the most of our hotel-room charging situation at night.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

No, the uber users must be controlled and stopped at all costs! They must not be allowed to continue to infiltrate the parks and take advantage of the FastPass!

 

[Doug7856]

The possible limitations on AP FastPass+ to 20 per quarter persuaded me not to get an AP (with the recent DVC awesome discount). We are planning a big family trip next November and the possibility that my family would be limited to 20 and our guests would not have that limitation during our 10 day visit was the tipping point. (Without the AP I wont be tempted to do an extra trip anyway.) Our family will be at WDW for 12 days with family joining us later. Now at least 2 of those days will not be at a Disney park since we "only" have 10 day hoppers. Or we could just truncate our trip and save a few dollars.

Seems a huge problem to me if AP holders and possibly DVC members traveling with family will have to skip rides due to FastPass+ limitations.

 

[UNCFanatik]

You have to be making that up!!!! Did they REALLY say "surprise and delight? ?????

That's just SCARY!

Well, surely there were people somewhere who enjoyed the group. Wasn't it just a core group of gloom and doom naysayers on the DIS who weren't happy with the tradeoff and the way it was handled????

There were people that offered up predictions on how Disney would never have closed Test Track in the manner they did. And those people were wrong. It was more than just putting that group of singers out there.

Those people with their so called powers of observation and logic were wrong. Plain and simple.

Time will tell how they fare with this round of predictions and that is why people shouldnt put too much stock in all these Disney Dis board "experts".

 

[UNCFanatik]

The possible limitations on AP FastPass+ to 20 per quarter persuaded me not to get an AP (with the recent DVC awesome discount). We are planning a big family trip next November and the possibility that my family would be limited to 20 and our guests would not have that limitation during our 10 day visit was the tipping point. (Without the AP I wont be tempted to do an extra trip anyway.) Our family will be at WDW for 12 days with family joining us later. Now at least 2 of those days will not be at a Disney park since we "only" have 10 day hoppers. Or we could just truncate our trip and save a few dollars.

Seems a huge problem to me if AP holders and possibly DVC members traveling with family will have to skip rides due to FastPass+ limitations.

Dont see why rides will have to be skipped. People act as if they can not do attractions without a FP.

 

[mom2rtk]

There were people that offered up predictions on how Disney would never have closed Test Track in the manner they did. And those people were wrong. It was more than just putting that group of singers out there.

Those people with their so called powers of observation and logic were wrong. Plain and simple.

Time will tell how they fare with this round of predictions and that is why people shouldnt put too much stock in all these Disney Dis board "experts".

So you're saying that their optimistic faith in Disney not to close Test Track in tha last minute, unannounced fashion that they did was misplaced?

With every move like that a company makes, people downgrade their expectations. I'd say that's probably what is happening here.

 

[mom2rtk]

Dont see why rides will have to be skipped. People act as if they can not do attractions without a FP.

Yep. Just like that insurance company I worked for. "We're not saying you can't have the operation. Just that we won't pay for it."

"You go ahead and wait through that 2 hour standby line while the rest of your party goes through the 15 minute fastpass line."

 

[Disney_Princess83]

"

"You go ahead and wait through that 2 hour standby line while the rest of your party goes through the 15 minute fastpass line."

That seems fair. I guess the rest of your party will buy a cupcake and Coke Float each while they wait and then pop over and pick up some merchandise. Maybe they could grab a FP for Peter Pan... oh no wait, only if they had booked that 60 days in advance....

Completely OT - mom2rtk: the profile picture of your daughter with Belle is beautiful! I keep meaning to say that!

 

[SaraJayne]

And you didnt believe they would handle the closing of Test Track for rehab the way they did either. But you were mistaken then.

As far as logic and observation, I would put my money on what information mousermerf has graciously offered up.

Mousermerf sounds more logical and reasoned than a group of people who think they are somehow entitled now to not have to wait in line for more than 15 minutes regardless of the time of year they go.

You have a different definition of "gracious" than I do.

Ok, so far Disney has potentially alienated AP holders, locals, tweens/teens and foreign visitors (that come for weeks at a time) with these potential changes.

So who's left?

 

[UNCFanatik]

So you're saying that their optimistic faith in Disney not to close Test Track in tha last minute, unannounced fashion that they did was misplaced?

With every move like that a company makes, people downgrade their expectations. I'd say that's probably what is happening here.

I am saying that people presumed to know what Disney was going to do, much like they are in this FP+ instance. And they turned out to be wrong then.

Therefore, people should be wary of these same people making predictions in this instance ESPECIALLY since the program hasnt even been rolled out yet

 

[Disney_Princess83]

You have a different definition of "gracious" than I do.

Ok, so far Disney has potentially alienated AP holders, locals, tweens/teens and foreign visitors (that come for weeks at a time) with these potential changes.

So who's left?

There are a few people on this thread that are "left"

 

[Disney_Princess83]

I am saying that people presumed to know what Disney was going to do, much like they are in this FP+ instance. And they turned out to be wrong then.

Therefore, people should be wary of these same people making predictions in this instance ESPECIALLY since the program hasnt even been rolled out yet

I'm unsure what users were making these predictions?

 

[UNCFanatik]

Yep. Just like that insurance company I worked for. "We're not saying you can't have the operation. Just that we won't pay for it."

"You go ahead and wait through that 2 hour standby line while the rest of your party goes through the 15 minute fastpass line."

I am sorry but why do people think they are somehow entitled to never have to wait more than 15 minutes for an attraction no matter the time of year or the size of their party.

Point is people can still ride attractions using the standby lines.